Novum Acies Chronicles/A New Life?
{|style="width:100%; color:#FFF;" | At the age of 10, Deryck-D096 is greeted by two ONI agents, one of them being Andrew Johnson himself, who ask him a few questions, recruiting him into Delta Company. ---- A peaceful afternoon. Deryck was in the woods gathering fruits. "Deryck!" The silence was broken when he heard his brother Jerry shout his name far away. If it weren't for the hills nearby, Jerry's voice would barely cover half the distance between them, due to the lack of an echo. Jerry's shout worried Deryck, it meant trouble, unless Jerry was pranking again, damn him. Still, Deryck wasn't looking to take risks. He stopped his work and started running towards the source of the sound, bringing only the fruits he had brought so far. As he reached his destination, he saw Jerry, sitting on the ground looking a little terrified. He slowly went beside him. "What happened Jerry? Why did you call out for me?" "A f-few people came here. They said they're looking for you, and told me to call you." "Me? God, I hope they're not the guys I fought with back then." "No no no, these men, they-they're different. One of them looked scary, and I think they're dangerous" "Alright, calm down. Where are they now?" Jerry's face showed more fear now, as he slowly pointed to behind Deryck, around the same time Deryck heard footsteps, growing in intensity slightly. Someone had approached them. Deryck turned to see two figures; he made them out as two men, one in some sort of military uniform, while the other was wearing a neat tuxedo and a tie. For some reason, Deryck felt like he knew the main in the tuxedo before, a blurred image from a distant past, though Deryck suspected he was a resident in the village Deryck and Jerry lived earlier. "Hello, are you Deryck Baxter? My name is Andrew Johnson, and I'm here for you." Deryck growled, "What do you want from me?" "I'm sure you'll be surprised after I tell you why I have come here. Come here, I don't want to do what I want to do while your brother is hearing." "No." Johnson calmly controlled his irritation, and replied in a friendly manner, "Trust me, Deryck, I won't do any harm. It's just that your brother is too young for this stuff." This time Deryck became curious. Things not suitable for children? Was this related to some job offer? Deryck disliked doing a job under organized people, but he had to get money for food for him and Jerry. That meant putting his dislikes aside and working for a living. So he complied with the man's orders and came near him. "Deryck, I'm with the Office of Naval Intelligence, a sub-branch of the UNSC Navy. I know about your past, about how your mother died in a car accident, and how soon later your dad abandoned you. A pity we can't talk about his profession, but all that is important is that he did not care for you and your brother." Deryck felt sad after hearing the man's words. His mind pictured his happy mother, loving both her sons and taking care of them. His father, ugh, he never liked him, nor did he feel like he loved Deryck and Jerry. But even with that, life was good when his parents were around. Ever since his dad remarried and moved to a different city, leaving the brothers in the state on their own, life just wasn't... good. "We know since then you've been struggling to feed your brother and yourself. Stealing was good in the beginning, but proved to be unfruitful a little while later. So you've resorted back to getting fruits from the woods, but admit it, it's hard." "Why are you here?" "Deryck, I feel that you're going through tough times. I want to make your life easy, and I'm offering you a chance to become a... Spartan." "A Spartan? Like the ones who fought the aliens and protected humanity?" "Yes, like them. You can be one too. Come with me, and you will see yourself becoming a Spartan, a legendary... superhero, of humanity." That sounded to be indeed a good offer for Deryck. However, his thoughts were interrupted when Johnson continued talking. "But, there's something you must give up to become a Spartan." "And what's that?" "Your brother, and your life here." "What!" Johnson sighed, "You know we can't let children like you become Spartans without sacrifices, and this is yours. If you want to be a Spartan, come with us, and leave your brother." "B-b-but..." "Think of it Deryck. You have literally nothing, here, everything's a pain for you. But if you accept my offer, if you come with me, you can become a superhero. You'll have a family, a huge one if I say so myself, a purpose in life, and happiness." Deryck glanced at his brother, who was now playing in the sunset, trying to catch butterflies. Jerry looked happy now, there was no trace of fear on his face, unknowing about the conversation that was going on. Deryck started, "I don't know..." "Think wisely Deryck. I'll give you time to do so, in fact, a month will suffice, I think. I shall come back for you again, and then you have you choose your fate. A lonely, struggling life here, or one with duty, honor, and purpose with me." With that, Johnson left him, going back to the other, ever-silent uniformed-man, muttering some words, and leaving the place, pretty quickly. Deryck thought about it in the following weeks, it bothered him a lot. Becoming a Spartan sounded interesting and better than the situation he was in right now, but it also meant giving up his brother, whom he cared for and loved a lot. By now, the time for thinking was almost over, and so was Deryck's dilemma. The thinking was done, and he made a decision, on a condition that Johnson had to accept. When Johnson came back in a month, Deryck accepted his offer. He was taken in a small dropship, away from his brother, who had no idea where his big brother went. Deryck wasn't that careless though, so he asked Johnson, "What will happen to my brother Jerry?" Johnson replied with silence, and that frustrated Deryck. "I'm not going to leave him unless you swear Jerry will get better treatment and a new, better life!" That seemed rather unusual for Johnson but agreed rather easily than Deryck expected him to. Just before leaving, Deryck ran back to his brother, and with tears in his eyes gave him a tight hug, before running away, much to Jerry's confusion. Deryck couldn't stop the tears, but he knew this had to be done. As he reached the dropship again, he slowly decreased his and came to a standstill just before the bay door, stopping in front of Johnson who was waiting for him. Rubbing away the tears, Deryck said in a sad tone "I'm ready now", as Johnson lend out his hand. And so went Deryck, away from the planet of Emerald Cove and towards a new life. Little did he know, his new life was entirely different.